RALEIGH, N.C. -- To be the champs, you have to defeat the champs. It was a narrative that the Florida Gators became all too familiar with when they found out they’d be squaring off against the reigning back-to-back national champion UConn Huskies. The last time Florida was on the top-seed line in March Madness, it was the Huskies who stunned UF off the court in the 2014 Final Four.
A similar scenario nearly came to fruition on Sunday, as a nervous energy circulated throughout the Lenovo Center from Florida fans with a massive upset potentially in the works. It was now or never for the Gators, and they were in dire need of a heroic effort, gripping to a one-possession lead.
With immense pressure on his shoulders, senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. shrugged it off. He slowly dribbled his way to the right wing behind the 3-point line, tightly guarded by his defender. He pulled up and let a 3-pointer fly. By the time it sunk, he gave UF a six-point lead, and kept its national championship aspirations alive.
“What makes Walter so special is his ability to stay even-keeled regardless of how he's doing, whether it's great or not so great,” UF head coach Todd Golden said. “His ability to continue to lock in and stay the course… His confidence level never wavers.”
With the season nearly slipping away, the Gators responded. Top-seeded Florida (32-4, 14-4 SEC) narrowly fought past No. 8 seed UConn (24-11, 14-6 Big East) with a 77-75 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina.
UF’s offensive firepower this season has been fueled by its backcourt, and that didn’t waver on Sunday. Clayton Jr. was sensational amid his hero-ball performance, leading all scorers with 23 points and a 5-for-8 clip from behind the arc. Fellow senior guards Alijah Martin and Will Richard followed with 18 and 15 points, respectively, and combined for 10 rebounds and four 3-pointers.
Jumping out to an early lead is pivotal in March Madness, no matter the seed you’re slated as. Florida seemingly took note against UConn, though its gameplan didn’t come without its mishaps. Martin opened the scoring with a wide-open dunk underneath, then flushed a crowd-popping fastbreak alley-oop to put the Gators ahead 6-0 less than three minutes in.
The FAU transfer knows what it takes to make a deep run in The Big Dance, having led the Owls to the Final Four in 2023. Martin did all he could to duplicate his previous level of postseason play. He scored nine of UF’s first 11 points, with the latter bucket being a 3-pointer that touched nothing but net and extended Florida’s lead to 11-6 at the 13-minute mark.
“I think he showed experience,” Clayton Jr. said. “Obviously he has been here before. Man, that's just Alijah. We see Alijah every day. We done seen him in multiple games this year, even at home, in the Georgia game when he came out. He's had multiple moments like that all year, and he just did that again today.”
Despite Martin’s hot hand, the rest of the Gators were off to a relatively sloppy start, allowing the Huskies to hang around on the scoreboard. Florida committed six turnovers through less than nine minutes and totaled nine in the first half alone. As tightly contested as the opening 20 minutes was, the Gators benefited from UConn failing to score a single point off their takeaways.
Allowing an underdog to keep the score close in the first half can be detrimental for a team on the top-seed line in the NCAA Tournament. UConn sophomore guard Solo Ball helped the Huskies attack while the Gators seemingly continued on their path of self-destruction.
Ball hoisted a 3-pointer from the logo and missed, but he was fouled by UF sophomore guard Urban Klavzar on the way up. Following a 2-for-3 trip to the free throw line by Ball, the Huskies came back within just one point of Florida with 11:28 left before halftime.
Throughout the season, Florida used its high-scoring offense to consistently pull away from opponents. Against UConn, UF’s aforementioned recipe for success was initially nowhere to be found.
With under eight minutes left in the first half, Florida had missed five straight field goals en route to a two-plus minute scoring drought. UConn junior forward Alex Karaban took advantage, burying a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Huskies their first lead of the game, 18-16.
As the Gators had their backs against the wall, Clayton Jr. kept them afloat. The senior guard knocked down a tightly contested catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the left corner. Less than two minutes later, he buried a go-ahead deep ball off a pick-and-roll to give Florida a 27-24 edge with just over three minutes left before the break.
“For us, we just got back to what we were doing,” Richard said. “We have trust in each other, the three senior guards, we have a lot of experience, and we did a great job trying to keep everybody calm throughout those moments.”
Nevertheless, UConn kept its foot on the gas. Senior guard Hassan Diarra knotted the score at 31 apiece on a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining to send the two sides into halftime deadlocked.
A 7-1 run by UConn capped off by an and-one layup from Diarra gave the Huskies a 38-32 advantage less than two minutes into the second half. Karaban then finished a tough layup, and Ball followed with a transition 3-pointer to keep the Huskies ahead by four while also keeping Florida at bay.
UConn’s lead grew to six once more at the 9:24 mark due to a dunk by forward Tarris Reed Jr. The Huskies were now mere moments away from pulling off a stunning upset. If Florida couldn’t answer, its season would’ve crumbled significantly sooner than it, along with millions of Americans, ever would have thought.
“It took us a little minute, kind of do what we wanted to do,” Clayton Jr. said. “I think they got some open shots early, and it kind of put us in a little bit of a spiral as players. We was all just trying to help each other out a little bit too much instead of sticking to our assignments. Down the stretch, we ended up getting it figured out.”
In clutch fashion, the Gators ripped off an 8-0 run fueled by a pair of free throws by Clayton Jr. and a ferocious jam by Martin. Florida subsequently pushed ahead by eight points before escaping with a second-round victory.
In March, teams that find different ways to win games often find immense success. It was far from the prettiest performance for Florida, though a sloppy win was better than any form of defeat. UF committed 12 turnovers, but limited the damage on the other end with only four points coming from them. Moreover, Florida missed 12 free throws, but still managed to shoot an efficient 23 of 50 (46%) from the field and 9 of 19 from distance (47%).
Defensively, the Gators were stout despite UConn’s feisty underdog effort. UF held the Huskies to under 40% from 2-point range and under 30% from behind the arc. UConn was aggressive on the boards, narrowly losing the rebound battle 40-35. A plus-seven advantage on the defensive boards proved to be crucial to UF’s success.
Next, Florida awaits the winner of No. 4 seed Maryland and No. 12 Colorado State in the Sweet 16. The Gators will be back in action in San Francisco for the West Region semifinal this coming week. Tipoff time still has yet to be determined.
“This is why everybody came here,” RIchard said. “We wanted to bring Florida back to that national stage and that relevance.”
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a senior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose to further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
